USA Today and Fark.com: an unlikely combination in an unorthodox deal
Posted by Betsey Reinsborough on November 26, 2009 at 10:57 AM
Fark.com, the website known for its snarky take on news aggregation, has found an unlikely partner, USA Today. The partnership was announced yesterday, reports The New York Times. America's best selling paper will collaborate with the crowdsourcing news site in sponsorship of its Geek Page, which specializes in non-news in the fields of science, technology, and gaming. The odd paring, however, may be exactly what each party needs.
Fark.com has become notable for its choices of stories as well as its accompanying sarcastic headlines. Originally used to show the fluff that it believed did not actually constitute news (local 'crime' stories, useless scientific studies, animals doing silly things), the website has evolved far beyond the original concept. It is now a major social networking site and influential crowdsourcing site.
Users who want access to all of the content and commenting privileges even buy a subscription ($5 a month, $50 a year) for the full experience.
Most of the content on the site is user generated; users post links to quirky, funny, bizarre, or just plain useless stories and pictures and then comment on links posted by others. The links are accompanied by Onion-esque headlines such as the recent "Ten tips to ease the hassles of holiday flying. 'Staying home' conspicuously absent." There are also regular polls and contests on the site.
The partnership with USA Today will provide the site with content to be featured on the page as well as take over ad placement on the site. In return, USA Today is most likely looking to loosen up their image in an attempt to appeal to a different demographic. I may be wrong, but I would assume that not many Fark commenters currently have a subscription to USA Today. This move could increase circulation as well as traffic on the paper's web site.
Loyal readers needn't worry: USA Today does not plan to edit any of the headlines or categories on the site.
Fark.com founder Drew Curtis is reportedly open to seeking more media partnerships.
Source: The New York Times, Mediaite
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![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.editorsweblog.org%2Fmultimedia%2F2009%2F11%2Fusa_today_and_farkcom_an_unlikely_combin.php&bodytext=<form mt:asset-id="4581" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/0911usatodaysquirrel.jpg"><img alt="0911usatodaysquirrel.jpg" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2009/11/0911usatodaysquirrel-thumb-200x200-4581.jpg" width="200" height="200" class="mt-image-left" style="float: left; margin: 0 20px 20px 0;" /></a></form><div><b><a href="http://www.fark.com/">Fark.com</a></b>, the website known for its snarky take on news aggregation, has found an unlikely partner, <b><i>USA Today</i></b>. The partnership was announced yesterday, reports <i><b><a href="http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/24/fark-and-usa-today-bedfellows-in-oddity/">The New York Times</a></b></i>. America's best selling paper will collaborate with the crowdsourcing news site in sponsorship of its <a href="http://www.fark.com/geek_ext/"><i><b>Geek Page</b></i></a>, which specializes in non-news in the fields of science, technology, and gaming. The odd paring, however, may be exactly what each party needs.</div><div><br /></div><div>Fark.com has become notable for its choices of stories as well as its accompanying sarcastic headlines. Originally used to show the fluff that it believed did not actually constitute news (local 'crime' stories, useless scientific studies, animals doing silly things), the website has evolved far beyond the original concept. It is now a major social networking site and influential crowdsourcing site. </div><div><br /></div><div>Users who want access to all of the content and commenting privileges even buy a subscription ($5 a month, $50 a year) for the full experience. </div> &title=<b><i>USA Today</i></b> and <b>Fark.com</b>: an unlikely combination in an unorthodox deal){kind=link}
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